Cabsav

Description

Grid reference: SO 5557 1431

Length: >144m

Vertical range: 37m

A relatively short but significant and interesting cave. At the base of the initial 6.5m scaffolded entrance shaft (1st pitch), the cave splits. On the right, following the water upstream is the Upper Streamway. Some scaffolded collapse sections open out into a bedding crawl/washed out shale band which carries the stream. After a short time the passage become flat out and splits (at the Bifurcation). Streams emerge from both these branches which are currently being extended by digging.

Back at the base of the 1st pitch, the left hand passage leads into Cascade Chamber. Climbing up ~2m on the left side of the chamber leads to the Dry Rift fossil series, which ends shortly in digs at a lower level and pinches out at the higher level.

On the right of Cascade Chamber is a 10m scaffolded rift pitch down (2nd pitch). This leads to a bouldery slope and tight crawl around a corner to the head of the 3rd pitch (5.5m). At the base of this pitch and facing away from it, a rift on the left leads first up, then down to a dig. To the right from the pitch and downstream leads to the 4th pitch (7m). Lying flat out at the base of the pitch it is possible to enter the constricted Lower Streamway which closes down to an inpenetrable slot upstream becomes too tight downstream. At head height when standing at the foot of the fourth pitch, a tube leads off and after 12m this reaches a rising sump, which flows immediately into a tight slot - probably closely linked to the upstream end of the lower streamway.

The cave lies some 225m away from the presumed resurgence at The Slaughter (though no dye test has been carried out) and the lowest point of the cave is in the order of perhaps only 5m or so above that resurgence.

In an upstream direction, the nearby dig site of The Dropper (approximately 250m away) is presumed to drain to Cabsav. Although this was not proved by a dye connection, releasing large amounts of water into The Dropper did cause an increased flow in the Cabsav Upper Streamway. The highest point in Cabsav is roughly 16m lower than the bottom of The Dropper.

There would seem to be good potential for further extension both towards The Dropper and The Slaughter.

History

Digging was started by Tony Howard of RFDCC in 2007 in a large doline which had apparently not previously been noted or recorded by cavers. In 2010, digging assistance was provided by Jan Karvik and the "Chepstow Diggers". The entrance shaft rapidly broke through into Cascade Chamber and intercepted the streamway. Further breakthroughs ocurred upstream, into the dry fossil rifts and downstream later in 2010 and into 2011.